He ruled his sons with a rod of iron. But surly King George V was charmed by little Princess Elizabeth – and longed for her to take the throne as queen, writes IAN LLOYD

Royal governess Marion Crawford claimed that young Elizabeth's name for her beloved grandfather, King George V, was 'Grandpa England'.

Princess Margaret later denied this, claiming that 'we were far too afraid to call him anything other than Grandpa.'

George was a gruff former naval officer who ruled his sons with an iron rod.

His much-quoted comment to the Earl of Derby (although possibly apocryphal) is telling: 'My father was afraid of his mother, I was afraid of my father, and I'm going to do damn well to make sure my children are afraid as I am. .'

The future Queen Elizabeth II pushed in a pram by nanny Clara Knight in Balmoral. Dear grandfather George V shows the way with a walking stick

Princess Elizabeth with grandparents King George V and Queen Mary in a 1929 portrait. George, recovering from a serious illness, had found the arrival of baby Elizabeth tonic

There is no doubt that he adored his eldest granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, and that she in turn revered him.

In the spring of 1927, Elizabeth's parents made an extended tour of Australia and New Zealand, leaving the baby with both sets of grandparents.

In March, George V wrote to the Duchess of York: “Your dear little daughter now has four teeth, which is quite good at eleven months.”

The following spring, the King and Queen asked Bertie and Elizabeth if their baby could stay at Sandringham as they wanted more time with her.

When she finally returned to London with her nanny, the king wrote to his son: “I miss your dear baby more than I can say, breakfast and tea are very different without her.” He thought the Norfolk atmosphere agreed with her because “she's made a lot of progress.”

In the fall of 1928, George contracted blood poisoning and nearly died. The following spring his doctors prescribed sea air and he and the queen went to Bognor to recuperate. Baby Elizabeth arrived, in the words of biographer Harold Nicolson, as “a soothe for jaded nerves.”

She walked next to his wheelchair along the sea and baked shortbread in the garden.

One day the Archbishop of Canterbury arrived to find the king on all fours on the carpet playing horse with his granddaughter, who was leading him by his beard.

George was less interested in Elizabeth's education than Queen Mary, but he did have one request from Marion Crawford.

He said to her, “Teach Margaret and Lilibet to write decent handwriting. That's all I ask of you. None of my children can write well.'

Princess Elizabeth leaves Westminster Abbey among her grandparents after a service for the unemployed

Princess Elizabeth waves to the crowd from the palace balcony in 1935

King George V pictured during his illness at Craigwell House, Bognor in 1929

George V died when Elizabeth was three months away from her tenth birthday. She and Princess Margaret had spent Christmas 1935 with their grandparents, but as the King's health deteriorated over the New Year, it was thought better that the young girls return to London on 17 January, three days before his death.

Elizabeth was taken by her mother to witness the historic wake of the princes, when her father and his three brothers briefly stood guard at King George's coffin at 12.15pm on January 28.

In retrospect, it was a poignant moment, as both George VI and the late Elizabeth II, eyewitnesses to this event, were also said to lie in state at the same spot.

Later that same day, the Princess attended Grandpa England's funeral at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

There are more than passing similarities between George V and Elizabeth in the way she came to view her role and how she handled specific situations.

During both governments, the monarchy became more accessible to the people.

Over the years, George and Mary visited the industrial heartlands of the North, the Midlands and Wales. 'Away days' and longer tours were also a staple of Elizabeth II's reign. She crisscrossed the United Kingdom more than any previous monarch.

Elizabeth II, like her grandfather, considered herself a trustee of the monarchy. Both were keen to see it continue beyond their own time.

Duke of York, King Edward VIII and the Duke of Gloucester in the funeral procession

By the time of his death in January 1936, George was already worried about his successor, Edward VIII.

“After I die,” he said prophetically, “the boy will ruin himself within twelve months.”

Another comment from the King-Emperor – or one he is said to have made – is even more prescient:

“I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne.”